Returning Home
by NightWatcher666
Summary: Eleven years after the explosion at the plant and fifteen years after getting her powers Alex returns home. rated T for content and language.
1. Welcome Back

**Returning Home**

Chapter 1

Welcome Back

----

She stepped out of the cab and looked at her childhood home and sighed, she had finished college about three years ago and had been teaching high school science of all things. She had kept in touch with her parents and her sister, but had not been since her graduation, but now she was offered a job at the local high school and jumped at the chance to come home to Paradise Valley. Things had been going very well for her family since her dad had taken over Paradise Valley Chemicals and her sister Annie was head researcher for the plant. She pulled her bag out of the trunk of the cab and started heading towards the house when her parents walked out the front door to greet her.

"Mom, Dad", she said leaving her suitcase and running up to them.

"Alex", her mom said pulling her into a hug, "It's been so long."

"How have you been Alex?" her dad asked also embracing her.

"It has but I'm home now and I plan on staying for a while", Alex said returning to her bag, but instead of grabbing it she squinted and the bag rose from the ground and deposited itself on the porch several feet away.

"I see your abilities haven't faded away over time", her dad remarked.

"Actually as I've gotten older and my mind more focused they have actually gotten stronger", she replied.

"I still don't get why the antidote didn't work or why her condition is irreversible", Barbara chimed in still not liking the fact of what had happened to her daughter.

"It's like I've told you before Barb, by the time I got the antidote ready the GC-161 had already been in her system for four years, and by the time we found out the cure was only temporary Annie discovered the chemical completely rewrote her DNA making her condition irreversible", George stated in a matter of fact tone.

"And after fifteen years to even attempt to reverse the condition would be dangerous at best", a voice stated from behind Alex.

"ANNIE", Alex squealed turning around and throwing her arms around her older sisters' neck, "It's really great to see you."

"It's good to see you too Alex", Annie choked out trying to breath, "Now about these stronger powers?"

"Does everything always have to be about science?" Barbara asked, "George you run a chemical plant, Annie is a researcher, and Alex is and I still can't believe it, a science teacher."

"What's so weird about that?" Alex asked.

"Alex sweetie, you hated science in school", her mother responded.

"Well maybe if my teenage years weren't spent as a science project", Alex said jokingly sticking her tongue out at Annie," I might have discovered my liking of it earlier."

"I just can't win", Barbara said walking into the house with one arm over each daughter, "Not only has my 'normal' daughter gotten into science, but because of science has superpowers she hides from most of the world."

"Oh come on mom, it's not like I hid out in a cave", Alex said while telekinetically carrying her suitcase into the house, "I had an apartment and taught high school."

"I'm going to start dinner, you girls can entertain each other for a little while", Barbara said to her daughters.

Alex looked at Annie with a hint of mischief in her eye, "Garage?" she asked.

"Garage", Annie replied with a smile.

----

George Mack walked into the garage only to find Annie with a shocked look on her face and to see Alex making a large ball of electricity. "What the heck is this?" he asked clearly surprised."

"Alex is just showing me her stronger powers", Annie answered still with a hint of shock in her voice.

"And just how much more powerful was that?" George asked still reeling.

"According to my scan that ball of electricity had enough power to power every home in Paradise Valley", Annie stated.

"What", her father replied.

"For six months", she finished.

"So you're saying I can produce enough electricity to charge the power grid?" Alex asked.

"I'm saying you could take a direct lightning bolt hit and not even have your hair stand on end." Annie replied.

"And what else can you do?" their father asked still processing what he saw.

"Well tell me what you think of this", Alex said as she began to rise off the ground.

"You can fly?" Annie and her father said together and neither bothered trying to hide the utter shock.

"Yeah", Alex replied slightly embaressed, "And I can get pretty high too."

George looked at his daughter in total disbelief, "How is this possible?"

"Well Dad, if her powers are stronger it's obvious that her telekenetic abilities have evolved enough to achieve the ability to levitate", Annie answered her father.

"Try this out", Alex said floating over and grabbing Annies hand causing her to shriek as she was suddenly lifted off the ground.

"S..so if you hold on to them another person can fly as well?" Annie asked still trying to get her balance.

Alex smiled at her sister, "Well I don't have to hold on to you but since I'm the one controlling the power it makes it easier to control your movements and keep you stable if I'm holding on."

"Ray would love this", Annie said as her and Alex lightly landed back on the floor.

Alex smiled, "Wait till it gets dark and I'll take you on a real flight."

"Sounds like fun", Annie replied exitedly.

"Tell you what", George said, "Why don't you girls head back into the house where Alex can call Ray, I'm sure he would want to welcome you home. We'll continue this later."

----

It was eight pm as Raymond Alvarado knocked at the door of the Mack house. He was busy thinking about how great it would be that Alex would be working at the high school with him so they would be able to relive the old days as the door opened to reveal Alex inviting him in.

"Wow", he said, "You look beautiful."

"Ray", she said embarassed.

"Sorry, Just blurted it out", he said lowering his head obviously embarassed at what he said.

"Hey, don't worry about it", she responded, "It's good to see you too."

"Ready?" Annie asked walking out of the house.

"For what?" Ray asked.

"This", Alex said taking their hands and rising off the ground with her two passengers.

"How are you doing this?" Ray aske shakily, not quite sure what to think.

"Stronger powers", Alex responded taking off towards the sky.

----

**A/N: I hope you like this story, and also just so you know I do not own The Secret World of Alex Mack and never will. Only the plot and any original characters are mine.**


	2. Fun Times and Dark Secrets

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 2**

**Fun Times and Dark Secrets**

----

Alex, Ray, and Annie sat on top of the tallest building in Paradise Valley looking up at the stars. Over the last half hour they had been on the roof Annie noticed that Alex and Ray had been moving slowly closer together, now to the point where Ray had his arm around her shoulder and her head was resting on his. Annie also noticed that the two of them were now holding hands, and she was beginning to feel like a third wheel.

"You know if you guys want to be alone I don't mind giving you your space", Annie told them sincerely.

Alex immediately started to glow as she and Ray pulled apart. She kind of stuck her head down before speaking, "No that's ok, and I didn't mean to get lost in moment."

"Look you're both 28 now and when's the last time either of you was in a relationship with anyone?" Annie asked.

"It's been awhile", the both answered simultaneously.

"I figured", Annie replied, "Listen you two have known each other forever, you're like two halves of the same person and you belong together."

"Annie he's my best friend", Alex responded shocked.

"So", Annie said back,"That would just make it easier."

"Not to mention weird", Ray responded.

"Since when did you play matchmaker Annie?" Alex asked

"Since he's about the only guy I think I could trust", she replied, "Listen it's getting late, maybe we should head back."

"Yeah, I guess you're right", Alex said taking their hands and flying down off the building.

----

He sat in a darkened office rubbing his temples, even though the sun had gone down hours ago he had still not turned on a single light. He winced in pain when the knock on his door sounded and shuffled around his messy desk for his glasses before telling his visitor to enter.

"Come in", he snarled at the door.

A man standing about five foot ten inches with a slightly receding hairline and a graying mustache entered the office carrying two folders.

"This had better be good news", the man behind the desk said quite clearly annoyed.

"We..well sir CPD – 9 failed, the test subject passed away this morning from complications", the other man stated timidly.

The man behind the desk scowled, "Exactly what kind of complications?"

"Well", the balding man said, "he entered a state of psychosis and ripped his own throat out."

The man at the desk sighed, "Make the usual preparations and add Compound-9 to the disposal list. I also want you to begin preparations for our next experiment."

"Well I actually have an idea you might like", the other man said while handing him a folder.

"Formula 161, active ingredient GC-161, complete weight loss and muscle building product", the man at the desk looked up from the file, "I'm not impressed, we're trying to create better operatives, not get them to lose a little weight."

"Sir you don't understand, this product was pulled off the shelves only minutes before its release to the public because of its 'dangerous' side effects." He said while turning the page in the file to show the recall order.

"There's no side effects listed, have you found out what they were?" the man behind the desk asked sarcastically.

"Nothing concrete but reports say it completely rewrites the DNA with a large enough dose, and it's rumored to provide the contaminated with telekinesis, the ability to shoot electricity from extremities, and the ability to liquefy and re-solidify at will." He responded.

"And how exactly do we know this Dr. Thomson, its bad practice to rely on rumors." The man at the desk said coldly.

"We have some reports that fifteen years ago a kid was involved in an accident with a chemical truck and was drenched with the compound" Dr. Thomson answered.

"Where is this chemical plant?" the man asked.

"Paradise Valley, California", Thomson answered.

----

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and Alex was incredibly annoyed that her sister was trying to wake her up at seven am to run some more tests. After about twenty minutes she got so frustrated she sat straight up in bed and grabbed Annie by the shirt.

"I just got into town yesterday, I took you and Ray out flying, and I only have a week before I start at the high school. I'm not getting up at seven and your tests can wait for me since I'm the one with the powers. Are we clear?" she roared at her sister who just blankly nodded. "Good", and with that she lied back down and put her pillow over her head.

"Twenty-eight years old and still a pain to get out of bed", Annie muttered to herself unintentionally getting heard by Alex who once again sat up in bed.

"What time do you go to work during the week?" she asked still irritated.

"between eight and nine, why", Annie returned.

"When I have to go to work I have to be there no later than seven, so I want to sleep in while I still can", she grumbled while getting up.

"I'm sorry", Annie tried to get back in her sisters good graces, "I'll be more considerate in the future."

"I'll meet you in the garage in about half an hour, I want breakfast first", she moaned before stalking into the bathroom.

----

Thirty minutes later Annie was in the garage preparing her old clipboard and measuring tape to test out Alex's morphing ability when she almost had a heart attack as she watched herself enter the room.

"Hi Annie", the doppelganger said cheerfully upon entering the garage clearly in Alex's voice.

"Alex what the hell are you doing?" she practically yelled through her shock.

"I thought it would be a funny trick to play" Alex said morphing into a puddle and then back to herself laughing the whole time, "You should have seen the look on your face."

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Annie yelled still visibly shaken.

"Call it payback for waking me up this morning", Alex replied with a sly smile.

"What's all this yelling about girls", George said sternly walking into the garage.

"Show him Alex", Annie said with a bit of temper in her voice.

Alex morphed back into a puddle and reformed into an exact duplicate of her mother.

"Holy hell Alex", George was also beyond shock with new development, "How long have you been able to do that?"

"About three years", she replied changing back to herself.

"Alex", Annie said, "You've turned into a shape shifter who can fly and control lightning"

"Yes, I know", she replied, "But I'm not a science project.

----

**a/n: Chapter 2 was actually pretty fun to write even if I did it at work.**


	3. The Time Comes

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 3**

**The Time Comes**

----

Alex and Ray were attempting to relive their youths by spending the day hanging out at the mall. They had been walking around for a little over an hour and Alex was lugging a couple bags of supplies for her class, all Ray had gotten was a new baton from the instrument store.

"This isn't fair", she complained, "I have to carry all this crap and all you have to worry about is a new baton."

Ray chuckled a bit and took one of the bags from Alex, "That is why I'll always like my job better than yours."

"Ray we have the same job just different positions, you teach kids how to not suck at making music and I teach kids how to cut up frogs and mix chemicals without blowing themselves to hell", she retorted.

"Don't forget to make sure they don't make themselves glow or turn into puddles", he said laughing.

"Oh come on, I can show them some of my tricks and see how much the school board likes me", she chuckled out.

"Just promise me you'll never transform into me and make my class do something silly", he said unknowingly leaning towards her.

She smiled, "Oh no I would never do a thing like that", Alex replied also leaning in and pressing her lips to Rays.

After a few moments they separated and looked at each other in a new light. Ray began to sink away as though he had done something wrong but Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him close to her.

"Don't, it's ok", she said still slightly blushing.

"I don't know what happened", he responded.

"Hey don't worry about it", Alex replied, "And besides, you're a good kisser."

He perked up slightly, "You think so?"

"I don't know", she replied with a smirk, "I just might have to try it again", and she leaned back in to kiss him again.

----

George entered his office to go over the files for the second half of the day. As he made his way over to his desk he noticed an unfamiliar man standing in the corner.

"Can I help you?" he asked the man.

"Actually you can Mr. Mack", he responded, "I'm here to inquire about a substance called GC-161."

"I see", George said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you sir."

"And why is that? If I may ask", the man questioned sternly.

George looked at the man clearly annoyed, he was not about to let something so dangerous fall into the hands of someone he didn't even know let alone trust. "Well for one thing it's a dangerous substance that only top level staff members and researchers have access too, which by the way have to be cleared by me, and for another, I don't even know you.

"Of course", the man replied, "I'm Dr. Thomson, and I am from the government."

"Is that so?" George asked skeptically.

"Yes Mr. Mack it is, and my boss is very interested in acquiring your data on the GC-161 project." Thomson looked George straight in the eye and tried his best to look intimidating, "And my boss always gets what he wants."

George returned the look that this Dr. Thomson gave him and began to raise his voice slightly, "Tell your boss that if he goes through proper channels and I see the correct paperwork that I would be happy to help him out, but until that happens I have no intention of just handing GC-161 over to anybody. Do I make myself clear?"

Dr. Thomson began to shy away from the angry CEO, "Quite, and I will give my boss the bad news, but I must warn you he will not be happy about this."

"In the mean time I would be most appreciative if you would vacate these premises before I have security do it for you", George stated with a sharp tone in his voice.

Dr. Thomson lowered his head slightly indicating that George had won this round and left the office. Once George was sure he had left the building he picked up the phone and dialed his head of research.

"_Ann Mack", _the voice on the other end said

"Annie, we have a problem", George said.

"_What kind of problem?_" she replied.

"Well some man was here asking about GC-161, and he claimed to be from the government." George said not bothering to hide the annoyance he felt at the situation, "I'm ordering a complete halt on all GC-161 research and activating a code red security on all files pertaining to it."

"_I'll immediately lock down and hard copies, remove the drive, and destroy all samples"_ Annie replied.

"Good and next chance you get please tell Alex to be careful of anyone snooping around, especially if they're snooping around her." He said before hanging up and trying to go back to work.

----

It was now about 3:30 and Ray and Alex had just gotten back from their shopping trip. Alex put her bags up in her room and then joined Ray on the sofa.

"So what should I wear?" she asked.

"Something nice but there's no need to overdress", he replied.

"Well I guess I should shower and get ready, I'll see you in a couple hours", she said leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Guess so", he said felling his cheek, "I'll be here about eight for you."

"And I'll be ready", she replied walking him to the door.

Just as she was shutting the door Annie came bursting in.

"Alex", she said panting, "We have a problem."

Alex looked in disbelief at her sister; she hadn't seen Annie lose her cool like this too many times before and knew something was seriously wrong.

"Annie, what is it?" Alex asked worriedly.

"Dad put GC-161 on a level red lock down. Apparently some guy tried to get dad to give him all the research into it", Annie said through her pants.

"And of course that means I have to lay low right?" Alex asked with a bit of tension in her voice.

"Dad wants you to carry this with you at all times", Annie said handing Alex a GPS locator.

"What's this for?" Alex asked.

"It's so we can know where you are at all times", Annie replied.

"I'm not taking that tonight", Alex said pushing the device away.

"Alex come on, it's for your own protection" pleaded Annie.

"Annie, I have a date and I won't have you and dad checking up on me. I'm twenty-eight and capable of taking care of myself at least for one night", she stated.

Annie scowled at her sister, "Alex for one in your life will you just accept the fact that even you…. Did you say a date?"

"Yes Annie a date", Alex retorted.

"With whom may I ask", Annie asked Alex.

Alex looked at her sister and simply smiled "You'll find out at eight", she said heading upstairs to begin getting ready for her first date with Ray.

----

**A/N: Here is chapter 3, I hope it's enjoyed and as always reviews are very much appreciated.**


	4. A New Horizon

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 4**

**A New Horizon**

----

Alex had spent the last three hours preparing for this moment, she showered, tried every outfit she owned on, and styled her hair four times. She grumbled as she took her hair down for one last styling before her date arrived. Meanwhile down in the Kitchen Annie and George were working furiously making sure there were no traces of GC-161 on either of their home computers when the door bell rang and they heard Alex scream from upstairs in frustration.

"I wonder what that's about", George said to himself.

"Oh didn't she tell you", Annie smirked, "Alex has a date."

"Really", George asked slightly surprised, "Did she say with whom?"

"No, but I'm going to find out", she said getting up and heading towards the door.

Annie was wondering who Alex would be going out with since she's only been back in town for about a week, hadn't found an apartment yet, and was trying to get ready for the school year starting up in a few days. Annie opened the door to find Ray dressed in a pair of black slacks and a black button down shirt holding a bouquet of white roses and a very nervous smile.

"I should have known", Annie said with a smirk letting him inside the house.

"You're the one who started the ball rolling and put the idea in our heads", he responded.

"Hey Dad" Annie called into the other room, "Come meet Alex's date."

George walked into the living room and his eyes widened to see Ray standing there well dressed and holding flowers. "Raymond", he said, "I didn't think it would be you."

"If you have a problem with it Mr. Mack I promise you I would never hurt her", he said almost pleading.

"Problem, of course not, I think it's fantastic. You and Alex have been through so much together and I know you'll do right by her", George said approvingly.

Ray was about to thank George but instead dropped his jaw as he saw Alex coming down the stairs wearing an elegant black dress that stopped just above her knee, her hair was done up in a bun which really showed off her facial features, and a black sweater that covered her shoulders and arms.

"Ok Ray you can put your eyes back in your head, I'm not that pretty", she said stifling a laugh.

Annie could tell Ray was absolutely flabbergasted, so she elbowed him in the ribs and motioned to the flowers snapping back to reality.

"You… you look beautiful. I got you these", he stammered out trying desperately trying to keep his composure.

Alex started to glow from everything going on as she took the flowers, "Thanks Ray, I'll go put these in water real quick then we can go."

"Real smooth", Annie whispered into Ray's ear but he was too enamored with Alex to really notice.

A few moments later Alex re-entered the room and took Ray by the arm, "We'll see you later."

"Have a good time", her father said as they were heading out the door

"And don't do anything stupid", Annie tossed in.

----

Dr. Thomson sat in his hotel room still jittering, he knew people who failed his boss had habits of becoming test subjects in the director's operative improvement program and yet he still had to call and tell him that George Mack wasn't willing to play ball. He had just about calmed down when his cell phone rang.

"Sir", Thomson said into the phone.

"_How did it go?_" the voice on the other end asked.

"Not well", Thomson said, "Mack's not going to give up the information without going through proper channels."

"_You didn't really expect it to be so easy did you?" _the director asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Thomson began to sweat profusely, completely amazed how intimidating the director could be over the phone, "N..No sir of course not, but it's always best to try the cooperation card first."

"_Excellent tactical thinking but I did some research and this George Mack seems to be an idealist in the worst sense of the word. I don't think diplomacy is going to help us here", _he stated.

"Should be prepare for stage two Director?" Thomson asked nervously.

"_No, we need to give him something to lose. We'll move directly to stage 3"_, said the director, "_I'll get a facility set up in Paradise Valley and as soon as we can be sure they won't be missed for a while, bring them in."_

"I'll get started right away sir", Thomson said grabbing his laptop.

"_And Thomson, don't screw this up. You know what happens to failures_", the director said in a warning tone.

"Of course sir, you can count on me", Thomson said just before the line went dead.

----

Alex and Ray were enjoying their meal at some fancy Italian restaurant with a name Alex wasn't even about to try and pronounce.

"So why didn't you tell Annie we were going out tonight?" Ray asked politely.

"I guess I just wanted to surprise her", Alex replied.

"Yeah right, you just didn't want her to know she was proven right so quickly", he stated.

Alex smiled as she took a sip of her wine, "Sometimes it's scary how well you know me."

"I have a feeling it will be a good thing in the future." He remarked.

"We'll just have to see", she said with a flirtatious tone in her voice and ran her hand down his arm releasing just enough charge to stimulate the nerves.

"That's not fair", he stammered out, "No screwing with the hormones unless you're willing to take what you dish out."

"Who says I'm not?" she asked with an arched eyebrow and a smirk.

Ray looked at Alex slightly confused, "It's amazing how easily we slid into this from what we were."

"Not really", Alex said earning her a please explain look from Ray, "We were constantly around each other growing up so we never really had the chance to develop, but since I went away for a few years to start my career, well let's just say it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Ray thought about it, "You're right, when you left I was happy to see you starting your life, but now I just want to take you into my arms and never let go."

Alex began to glow and she thought of the prospect of being in his arms, and she knew he could tell.

"So I'll take it you're not opposed to the idea", he joked as she looked at him in the eye, "You're glowing", He whispered.

"Oh", she said trying to make sure nobody saw her and took his hand, "So you've wined me and dined me, what do you say we head out and find something else to do.

Ray smiled at Alex and raised his hand to grab the waiters' attention, "Check please."

----

By ten-fifteen that evening George and Annie finished securing all data and for a safe place to hide Alex GC-161 stained clothes from the accident fifteen years ago.

"So why exactly are we going to such extremes to hide everything?" Annie asked clearly tired.

"The man who came to see me today gave me no explanation why he wanted it or what his intentions were, and if I didn't know better he tried to scare me into giving him what he wants. I'm just being safe in case he decided to try some unscrupulous tactics", he explained to his daughter.

"Well in any case it's done but it's late, I should head home", Annie said yawning at her father.

"Nonsense, Your old bed is still upstairs in your old room. Stay here tonight, we don't need you driving when you're exhausted", he said while pointing up the stairs.

"Somehow I doubt Alex wants to share", she told her father.

"That's why we left the room the way it was, so if you girls needed it was there", he said.

"Fine, I'll see you in the morning", she said walking towards the stairs.

"Goodnight sweetheart", he said heading to bed himself.

----

**A/N: there you go. As always only the OC's and plot are mine and I love reviews so don't be shy.**


	5. First Day at George Mack High

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 5**

**First Day at George Mack High**

----

The shrill of the alarm was like an ice pick in her ear as she was jolted into consciousness. As she shut the clock off and dragged herself out of bed she grabbed a towel and her clothes and stumbled sleepily towards the door. Slowly she made her way to the bathroom looking forward to a nice hot morning shower to wake her up. As she stepped into the bathroom and started the water running she silently cursed herself for taking a job that required her to get up at five in the morning, but at least she would be riding to school with Ray and he said he had some sort of surprise for her after classes were over today. She stepped into the show and instantly felt awake as the hot water hit her back, and after a couple seconds she melted to the bottom of the tub enjoying the water streaking down on her liquid form. After her shower she got dressed and headed down to the darkened kitchen for some coffee and breakfast. She felt a slight pang of disappointment that her mother wasn't down here with breakfast ready to eat, but what do you expect when you get up at least an hour before anyone else. She quietly put a pot of coffee on and made herself a bowl of cereal and some toast for breakfast. She was about half way through her meal when her father clad in a robe entered the kitchen.

"Morning sunshine", she said with as much cheer as she could muster for five-thirty in the morning, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't", he replied returning her smile, "When I heard the shower I knew you were up so I thought I would offer my company."

"I would never turn it down but I'm sure you and mom would like to get your house back from all my stuff", she said smiling.

"Alex, your mother and I know that you have a lot on your plate right now and just want you to know you can stay here as long as you need", he said putting a hand on her shoulder before going after the pot of coffee.

"I know Dad, you and mom have always been there for me, but I want to get my own place", she said hoping she wouldn't hurt her father's feelings.

George looked at his youngest daughter and gave a soft smile, "I understand, in fact when I was your age I wouldn't have gone home to stay with my parents if I could help it."

Alex rinsed out her bowl and smiled with the satisfaction that her father understood her feelings. She made her way back up to her room to get her bag ready for her first day of classes. Once she had everything ready she headed outside to wait for Ray who was picking her up for school today. A few minutes later Ray drove up and motioned Alex to get in the car. She put her bag in the trunk and slid in to the passenger seat giving Ray a quick kiss before putting on her seatbelt. Once she got comfortable Ray took off for the five minute drive to the school. As the school came into view Alex couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ray asked her wondering why she was giggling.

"We used to talk about how we couldn't wait to get out of school and now we've doomed ourselves to spend the rest of our lives in it" she said still stifling a giggle.

Ray looked sharply at her and then broke down into his own smile, "I've never thought about it before, but I can't deny that you're right.

He parked the car, grabbed his things from the back seat, and opened the trunk for Alex to grab her bag. They entered the building and immediately began reminiscing about their own high school days, Alex said goodbye to Ray as they came to the spot where they had to part and head to their individual rooms. She entered her new classroom and began using the time she had before the bell rang to begin setting up. She went through her normal list of first day science pranks and decided on one she had not used in a while, so with the last few minutes of free time she made her way to the copier. She had just gotten back to her room and put her lab coat on when the bell rang and students began entering her classroom. Alex looked down at her hands to make sure she wasn't glowing from nervousness before turning around to address the class.

"Good morning class I'm Ms. Mack and this is first period science", she said noticing their less than thrilled expressions, normally I use the first day solely for introductions but this year I thought I would try something different."

She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote Dihydrogen Monoxide on the board.

"We are going to have a class vote on wether or not this substance should be banned. I'm going to give you some facts and then you will vote", she smiled, "And we'll vote by a show of hands."

The class grumbled but complied as she stood in front of them waiting for the coming silence.

"All right", she said, "It causes millions of dollars in property damage every year, is fatal if inhaled, is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect, contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape, and accelerates corrosion of many metals. Despite these dangers it is often used as an industrial solvent and coolant, a fire repellant, and is a major ingredient in pesticides so that even after washing produce the contamination remains. Now by a show of hands who thinks this substance should be banned?"

Immediately hands went up and Alex counted out seventeen which was all but seven in her class. She smiled as she grabbed a label less water bottle out of her bag and showed sat it on the desk. "By an overwhelming majority this class thinks Dihydrogen Monoxide should be banned, but it just so happens that I have a sample of the substance in that bottle on my desk, and I hope none of you get thirsty because nothing beats a refreshing drink of water on a hot day", and she picked up the bottle and took a sip as she heard groans and saw face palms from all around the classroom as she smiled and thought to herself that this was going to be a good year.

----

He put his binoculars in his pocket and jotted down some information in his notebook, so far he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary but he was going to make sure he established a normal pattern for George Mack and his entire family. He left the high school campus to find Georges wife Barbara and he what her routine was, if the director wanted information he would get it. Dr. Thomson had just gotten into his car as his cell phone began to ring, satisfied with himself for working so diligently he wasn't even nervous as he answered.

"Yes sir", he said into the mouthpiece.

"_What have you found out?"_ the Directors cold voice came through the phone.

"We won't be able to move as quickly as we would like. The youngest daughter is a teacher as is her boyfriend, they would be missed at present time and since secrecy is a concern here it's in our best interests to wait for now", he said.

"_I agree_", came the cold voice again, "_Keep tracking them, but do not be seen, we cannot afford the project to be exposed through incompetence._"

"Understood sir, I'll keep you up to date on my progress", Thomson said before hanging up his phone.

He started his car and drove off to see what Barbara Mack does for her morning routine. As he turned on the main street he saw Annie Mack enter a coffee shop with a male he did not recognize and since he knew she wouldn't know him from Adam decided he could use a coffee break. Upon entering the establishment he grabbed a newspaper and ordered a large coffee and made sure to find the closest seat he could to Annie Mack without looking suspicious. Luckily for him there was a corner table just within eavesdropping range where he could sit, enjoy his coffee, and read the paper while using a small digital recorder to record everything that was said.

Annie sat down at the table with two coffees, one for her and another for her friend. She pulled out a folder and opened it for the two of them to see.

"As you can see", she started, "By introducing this substance into water it will cause the chemical to begin breaking down and taking the impurities with it, making water treatment much simpler and cheaper than current procedures."

"This is all very interesting but what happens if it were introduced into say a pond or lake?" he asked.

Annie smiled slightly, "Then you would have a very clean but lifeless pond of lake. The chemical doesn't discriminate and will dissolve anything in the water. I can't stress enough that this is for use only in controlled facilities such as a water treatment plant."

"So you're saying that this chemical could cause an ecological disaster if it were released somewhere it shouldn't be", he said shaking his head.

"The same thing happens with oil but we still use millions of barrels of it yearly", she retorted.

"Touché", he said, "So when will this be ready for live trials?"

"Not for at least another year, we want to make sure that there are no long lasting effects", Annie stated putting everything back in the folder.

"So much for getting away from work for a while", he said with a smile taking her hand.

"You knew what you were getting into the first time you asked me out David", she said smiling at him.

"I guess I did, but now speaking of work, we need to get back before your Dad notices we're gone", David said standing up.

"I guess", she said as she got up, took his hand, and headed out the door.

Thomson turned off the tape recorder and slipped it back into his coat. He would send it to the Director to see if this would be useful information. He headed back to his car and drove off to find his next target of observation.

----

Alex put the last of her supplies in the cabinet and hung her lab coat on the coat rack, as it was every year the first day was the hardest so she made it easier by pulling some kind of joke on her class the first day. Now since the school day was over she had the rest of the evening to spend with Ray. She had no idea what she was doing by dating her best friend but somehow it felt like they had always been a couple, it was just now official. The final bell had rung about ten minutes ago so she knew Ray would be by soon to pick her up, and as funny as it seemed it still felt right so who was she to fight it. There was a knock at her door as she was straightening out the desks and Ray entered with a smile walking up to her and embracing her. She let him hold her for a while before grabbing her bag and shutting off the light.

"Ready", she asked.

"Waiting on you", he joked putting his arm around her and heading for the car.

Once they got to the car they put their belongings in the trunk and got inside. Ray put the key in the ignition and turned it but nothing happened. He tried again but got the same result so Alex motioned for him to pop the hood and got out of the car. After going over the connections she determined it was just a dead battery so she put one finger on each terminal and gave out a small charge causing the car to turn over immediately. She got into the car and saw Ray beaming at her.

"Have I told you how fantastic I think you are?" he asked.

"No", she said leaning over and giving him a kiss, "But I'll take one of those and we'll call it even."

Ray smiled as he put the car into gear and they took off to whatever surprise Ray had in store for her.

----

Putting his binoculars back in his coat he sat there in almost pure shock. He had made it a personal mission to make sure the cars battery was dead but Ms. Mack had somehow gotten the car to start by herself. He took out his notepad and made a reminder to keep as close an eye on her as possible. This was definitely something his boss would want to know about.

----

Ray and Alex rode in the car in a comfortable silence taking back roads through the town. They had been in the car for about thirty minutes and Alex was beginning to wonder where they were going, but Ray wasn't talking. Every time she went to ask him he would just smile and say "You'll see", and Alex was starting to wonder if they were actually going anywhere. After about another ten minutes she began to so lights in the distance, and after another couple of minutes she was able to make out a Ferris wheel.

"I didn't know the fair was in town", she said grabbing his arm.

"They weren't supposed to be but Annie and I helped repair one of the ride computers last year so we cashed in a favor and got them to stay open an extra day this year just for you", he said smiling.

"And you said I was fantastic", she said barely able to hold in her glee.

"It was nothing really, just one of those right time right place moments", Ray was beginning to feel like he was on cloud nine just from her smile alone as he pulled into the parking area, "So what do you want to do first?"

"What do I always do first?" she asked knowing full well he would get the answer right.

"Tell you what, instead of going over everything in advance you lead and I'll follow", he said motioning her towards the gate.

They entered the fairgrounds and Alex ran straight for the Ferris wheel with Ray following right behind her. As they rode she made sure to snuggle up as close to him as she possibly could, and when they reached the top she tossed a single charge of electricity into the sky making it light up briefly. Ray normally would have worried when she did that just like all those years ago when even though he would encourage her to use them he was always worried something bad would happen to her if she did, but tonight was her night and if she wanted to show off a little he wouldn't stand in her way. After the Ferris wheel they made their way to the bumper card which were always one of Alex's favorites since she was a kid. After that they hit the Frisbee which Ray new was because she was getting hungry and wanted to get this one out of the way before she ate. Their meal that day was fit for no one but a glutton as it consisted of corndogs, funnel cakes, and buckets of soda. Next it was time for the games but before Ray would let her play she had to promise no powers using the reasoning that it would be cheating and the prizes wouldn't mean as much if she didn't work for them. She pouted a bit but agreed and even still didn't fare too badly, and the games she couldn't win he did so by the end of the evening she had an impressive haul of stuffed animals and other trinkets. It was still early so they decided to go back to his place and watch a movie, plus he said he would store Alex's winnings till she had a proper place to put them. Once they got back Alex simply floated the prizes into his apartment and found a good place for them in the corner. She found an old science fiction move on TV and Ray soon joined her with a couple of beers and they sat against each other in quiet contentment until the movie was over. It was close to eleven when the movie ended and Alex was beginning to fall asleep on Rays shoulder. He gently got up and laid her down on the couch while he put the empty beer bottles away and cleaned up the spilt chips. Once everything was tidy he gently shook her awake but she just moaned at him.

"Hey" she finally opened her eyes slightly at him, "Guess I'm a little tired."

"Why don't you stay here tonight, we'll swing by your house and get you some clothes in the morning", he offered.

"No need", she said sleepily, "I have a change of clothes in my bag, never know when you'll need them in my profession."

"So you'll stay?" he asked hopefully.

She moaned and put her arms around him, "Only if I don't have to sleep by myself."

"I think I can help with that", he said, "here's a shirt and some shorts, get changed and I'll be back in a couple minutes."

Ray left Alex in the living room to change as he went to the bedroom to do the same. Once he was done he carefully made his way back carefully into the living room just in case she wasn't decent, but what he found was a changed Alex falling back asleep on the couch. He carefully picked her up and carried her into the bedroom and got her covered up he crawled into the opposite side of the bed. Alex woke slightly and cuddled up against ray as they fell asleep in each other's arms,

----

**A/N: A timeline for those who wonder; ch1 is the Saturday before school starts, ch2 is the following day, ch3 is the following Friday, and this chapter is the first Monday of school. Always remember I love reviews and a special thanks to Jeremy Shane for being my most faithful reviewer so far.**


	6. Settling In

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 6**

**Settling In**

----

Alex awoke as the smell of cooking bacon permeated her nose and drawing attention to the growing rumble in her stomach. As she climbed out of Ray's bed she noticed her bag and a clean towel sitting on the bed next to her, but for the time being she left the items there and went out to find Ray. She wandered out into the living area and saw Ray standing over the stove cooking bacon in one skillet and omelets in another. Alex always knew he could cook but had never actually seen him do so and was amazed at the skill he showed in the kitchen. She watched as he expertly tossed up the pan getting a perfect flip from the omelet think how she was only able to do that with her powers. He smiled as he noticed her standing there and motioned for her to go take a shower. She nodded her head and went back to the bedroom to grab her towel and clothes. About ten minutes later a clean and freshly dressed Alex walked back out to the living area to find a fully prepared breakfast and Ray waiting at the table for her.

"You didn't have to do this for me", she said blushing slightly,

"Don't worry about it, it's nice to have someone else to cook for", he returned with a smile.

They ate their breakfast while talking about old times and what stupid things they did as kids such as sneaking into the chemical plant to steal a video tape of Alex, which Annie for some reason still had. Even though they had done many stupid things growing up, for some reason it always seemed to work out in the end. Once they had finished eating Alex sent Ray off to get ready for the day while she cleaned up the breakfast table. He tried to protest but she was already scrubbing the pans while they stood at the table arguing with each other about who would clean.

"Man Al, that's not fair, you're my guest you shouldn't have to work", he grumbled.

"Hey you made it, we ate it, and I'll clean it. Besides it's not like it's exactly hard", she said as she finished loading the dishwasher.

"Alright you win this one, but next time I want to hear any arguments", he said trying to get her to concede.

"We'll see", she said lightly poking him in the chest, "Now go get ready, we need to get going soon."

After Ray got dressed they headed out towards the car, once they got in and started the vehicle Alex noticed a strange man trying suspiciously not to look suspicious. She motioned Ray to drive out the back way from his apartment complex to avoid him and fished out her cell phone.

"Dad", she said slightly worried.

"_What's wrong Alex, you didn't come home last night_" he responded.

"I stayed the night at Ray's, but that's not why I'm calling. As we were leaving for the school this morning there was a man standing in the parking lot", she said looking back to see if he was following them.

"_Did this man have a thick mustache?_" he asked suspiciously.

"I didn't get close enough to get a good look but it's certainly possible", she answered.

"_Annie said she thought someone was following her too, but couldn't be sure_", he said, "_I want you and Raymond to head over to the plant so we can compare notes on this person._"

"Dad, we can't do that, both Ray and I have to go to work today, and since it's only the second day I'm not sure how well it will look if we're both absent from our classes", Alex said shaking her head.

"_Well alright but I want you both there as soon as possible_", he said, "_And Alex, if someone is following you please be careful with your powers. The last thing we need is the wrong people finding out._"

"I understand dad, we'll see you this afternoon", she answered with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"_Well be careful, both of you and Alex, I love you_", George said to his daughter.

"We will and I love you too Dad", she answered before hanging up the phone.

"Well what did he say?" Ray asked.

"He wants us to go to the plant this afternoon to meet him and Annie", she responded.

"We'll head there straight after school", he said turning while onto the main street in town.

"Ray, I'm scared. What if he saw me this morning? I haven't felt like this since I was a teenager", she said timidly to him.

Ray stroked the side of her face and took her hand, "You know I never have and never will let anything happen to you."

She smiled slightly and grasped his hand, "I know, I've always known I could rely on you."

They rode the rest of the way to the school in silence holding hands and enjoying the security being with the other brought. Once they arrived at the school Alex and Ray gathered their bags from the trunk of the car, and walked inside arm in arm. Once they got to the split in the hallway they gave each other a quick kiss and agreed to meet for lunch and went their separate ways. Alex strolled down the halls to her classroom and made it inside just before the bell rang. Having to take the back roads and make sure they weren't followed took extra time and with Ray making breakfast they really had to rush to make it to the school. She had just gotten her lab coat on as her first students of the day entered the classroom. She motioned for them to take their seats and began sorting out her lesson plan for the day waiting for the stragglers to arrive. Once everyone was accounted for and seated she opened her book and looked at her class.

"Alright who here can tell me a few basic chemical compounds we use in our everyday lives?"

----

Dr. Thomson returned to his hotel room and decided to catch a little sleep before he continued his work. Once the school day was over he would be heading back out to see where Alexandra Mack and Raymond Alvarado would be going and what other impressive things this girl could do. He couldn't be sure but through the blinds he thought he saw something going on that wasn't normal. If he could only get a good look at what this girl could do he may be able to find a way to make is useful for the director, and he could finally be seen as something other than a useless bookworm. He lied down on the bed and had just closed his eyes when his cell phone began to ring. He know it would be his boss and groaned slightly as he hit the accept button on the phone.

"Yes Director", he said slightly tired.

"_What have you found out Doctor?_" the director's voice came through the phone.

"There's nothing too out of the ordinary with any of them, with the exception of Ms. Alex Mack, who seems to have some unique abilities, but I have not been able to get close enough to make specific observations.", he replied hoping this would intrigue his employer.

"_Dr. Alexandra Mack is not a real concern at this moment. Her father is the true interest to me_", he came sharply through the phone.

"You mean she's a doctor?" Thomson asked clearly surprised.

"_Doctor in the field of chemistry, you should have really done more research_", the director responded.

"I see", he said beginning to feel a little nervous.

"_I will be forgiving this time, it's your first field assignment so a small mistake was bound to happen, but I will not be so forgiving next time. I have already got a facility being set up and you are to report there ASAP for further instruction._" The Director said without an ounce of emotion in his voice.

"Yes sir", Thomson responded, "But what about the Mack's?"

"_I'll worry about the Mack's; you get that facility running I want to have it fully operation by the time we make our move." _He said before dropping the line.

Thomson felt like a fool, not only had he neglected his main target for this girl, he had neglected to find out all pertinent information about her. Now because of his neglects he was essentially being given another desk job regarding this project that was his idea and he was supposed to get the information without having to start a full blown operation. He felt a pang of guilt because he knew that his failure would cause this family more pain than he wanted to inflict upon anybody, but because the director had stepped in this was going to go far worse than it should. He finally lied down and fell asleep thinking of other ways to keep an eye on Dr. Mack while at a desk job.

----

George and Annie Mack arrived at the chemical plant a little after 10 am. They left late and took alternate routes to make sure they weren't followed on their way to work. Once they got there they went straight to George's office where he called for the head of security Nicole Wilson and his distribution manager David Watt. Once they were both in the office George proceeded to explain to them the situation with this Dr. Thomson. He had Nicole pull an image of him from the office security system and told Dave to distribute those to his drivers. George told them how he wanted him nowhere near the plant or his home, and wanted the staff to detain him or call the police if he showed up on the property. Once all the details were in place he sent his employees back to their individual jobs and tried desperately to focus on his own.

----

Thomson arrived at the facility his boss had setup and immediately went to the office that had been prepared for him. Once he was settled in to his office he pulled any and all information he could on the Mack family; There was George who had been a researcher under Danielle Atron before she was arrested for presenting fraudulent test data to the FDA and after the reconstruction of the plant was named CEO, Barbara his wife owned a PR company and did most of the plants fundraisers and other activities, Ann the oldest daughter graduated with honors from MIT and is now the head of the research department at the plant, and finally Alexandra had graduated from the doctoral program at the California Institute of Technology and was currently dating her childhood friend Raymond Alvarado who graduated with a liberal arts degree and now taught music appreciation as well as the high school band. He realized that he truly wasn't dealing with normal people, in fact every single one of them had at least one degree and were all in fields where intelligence played a factor, but there was still something about this Alex Mack that intrigued him since he first saw him. After a bit more digging he found out that she was a mediocre science student during her grade school years but in college seemed to excel in her degree plan which meant something happened that sparked a true desire to go into this field and he would find out what it was because he had a hunch it played into why she was so peculiar. Thomson began to whistle to himself as be began drawing up a plan for a surveillance net. He would be damned if he couldn't know this families every move right from the comfort of his own office.

---

Alex and Ray drove through the check in gate at the plant and parked in the designated visitor spot. They got out of the car carefully making sure they couldn't see anybody following them as they headed inside. Once they entered Alex immediately felt a chill run down her spine. Even though it had been over a decade since the whole plant explosion incident with Danielle she still felt a little scared when entering the place. They made their way to George's office and sat down to wait for him just like he had instructed. After a few minutes Alex saw her father and sister enter the room with similarly worried looks on their faces to Ray and her. Once they had all made themselves comfortable George handed his daughter a photograph which caused Alex to nearly jump out of her skin. As she looked over the photo she could feel herself begin to glow and knew this was the man she had seen outside of Ray's apartment that morning.

"So I'll take it that this is him", George said as Alex only nodded.

"I've seen him several places and he always tries to seem like he's doing nothing wrong, but you can just tell", Annie stated.

"Alex if that's the case you won't be safe anywhere", Ray butted in.

"None of us will Raymond, not even you", George corrected, "He wants GC-161 and I think he'll do just about whatever it takes to get it."

"So then what do we do? I mean it's not like we can go into hiding and still make it to work every day", Alex said clearly frustrated.

"Well I think we all need to be around each other as much as possible, and I have a hunch if he knows that we know he's watching us he'll back off", George said optimistically.

"And that means?" Alex asked slightly sarcastically.

"We're all moving in with Mom and Dad", Annie said deadpanned.

"I guess we should go grab your things from my apartment before you head home tonight", Ray said.

"You're coming too Raymond", George said, "You're just as much part of this family as Alex and since you've been involved with this whole fiasco since day one you're also in danger."

"Mister Mack, I don't want to leave my apartment", Ray said with a slight pleading look in his eye.

"Sorry Raymond, but I'm afraid I have to insist", George returned, " But on the bright side if all goes well you'll be back in just a few days."

Alex gave her father a hug before she and Ray headed back out to the car. Once there they headed out of the plant parking lot and back into town. Alex frowned slightly because she knew Ray was not happy about having to leave his apartment when he felt he should be out doing whatever he could to protect her. After a few minutes of driving Ray noticed Alex watching him worriedly, so he took her hand and smiled as best he could in an effort to comfort her as he thought to himself that there was no way he would ever let anything happen to her.

----

**A/N: Here is my latest chapter. The next one will skip to the beginning of the winter break so be prepared for the jump. I love reviews so please do so.**


	7. Moves Made

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 7**

**Moves Made**

----

Alex stared longingly at the clock above her blackboard as it moved painfully slow. This was her last class of her last day before the winter break and she was ready to get out for a couple weeks. She sighed as she picked up the in class assignment she had given her class to pass the time and smiled because her class had no idea she wouldn't be grading them. Finally after what seemed like years of waiting the bell rang indicating the end of the school day and her class filed out the door to enjoy their holidays. Once her students were gone she started tidying up the room, even though it was technically the custodial staff's job she still liked to pick up after her day. After a couple of minutes she was getting more and more anxious to leave for the day and even though it was against her better judgment she used her telekinesis to straighten up the room in a fraction of the time it would have taken her to do by herself. After she was finish she hung up her lab coat, grabbed her bag and headed out the door intent on going home. She stopped at the spot in the hallway where she normally meets Ray only to silently curse herself because Ray was at home packing for their trip to the lake, but luckily he had given her his car to drive today so she didn't have to walk. Even though it wasn't a long walk to the apartment she had shared with Ray since October, she still even after all these months worried about being followed and watched. True that Thomson guy hadn't shown his face in a long time she still felt like she was being spied on for some reason. As she sat down in the car she checked the mirrors just to make sure she was alone before starting the engine and leaving the parking lot of the school. When she got back to the apartment she found Ray asleep on the couch watching a basketball game he had recorded the day before, but he had kept true to his word as she noticed the neatly packed bags for their vacation with her family out at the lake. She put a blanket over him and went to the kitchen to find food. After a few minutes of searching she still hadn't found anything to make for dinner which really didn't surprise her because they were about to go out of town for a week so they didn't bother to go grocery shopping. Settling on pizza she went to the bedroom and ordered so not to wake Ray, and once that was done decided to take a shower to relax from the day. She went into the bathroom and turned the water on, and while it was warming up she looked at herself in the mirror and inspected her face. Even though it had been several years since she had to worry about pimples she still held to the pre-shower tradition out of habit, once she was done with that she undressed and stepped in the soothing warm shower. After she was sufficiently clean she decided to relax at the bottom of the tub for a few minutes but a pounding on the door stopped her mid morph. She yelled, "Come in", and the door opened obediently. Already knowing what he needed she willed her wallet from her purse on the bathroom sink and without even looking up sat it down perfectly in Ray's hand. "Thanks", he said closing the door and leaving her to relax for a few minutes more. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to head out to the living room for dinner. After dinner they put on a movie and cuddled together on the couch to watch another one of their favorite classic sci-fi films.

----

Dr. Thomson sat quietly at his desk inside the facility watching today's surveillance videos. Even after four months of watching her Alexandra Mack still seemed to be at least subconsciously aware of his watching her. She had kept largely out of sight for the first month or so until she moved in with Mr. Alvarado, and only then began to come out of her shell so to speak. However today was special indeed, for not only were they close to getting what they were after but in watching carefully he spotted her rearranging her classroom by telekinesis. "_This is it_", he thought while going over preparations for the upcoming operation, and after they had gotten what they want he would be able to have a full understanding of the GC-161 effect. Truth be told he was proud of what he had achieved and even the director was pleased it seemed, and he was about to bring success to his terribly failing program to improve the operatives. He rechecked his information to make sure it was correct and just like it said the three times prior, the Mack's were leaving tomorrow for a week long vacation at the lake and Alexandra and her boyfriend Raymond were joining them. He loved when a plan came together and right now everything was running so smoothly he could skate on it. Tomorrow night the Mack's would be his.

----

The sun was going down just as George Mack loaded the last bag into the car. He closed the door as Barbara Mack came outside holding hot cup of coffee for him.

"Well we're about ready to go", George said to his wife.

"It's been too long", she replied taking a sip from her own cup.

"We went last year", he replied slightly confused.

"But not as a whole family", she countered.

George smirked slightly as his wife clarified, "You're right, and we'll even be plus one this year."

Barbara smiled slightly as Annie drove up to the house and parked in the vacant spot in the driveway. She exited the vehicle and pulled a large duffel bag. She gave her parents hugs and put her bag in the already stuffed car.

"So where are Alex and Ray?" she asked while trying to force the door shut.

"They'll be here in the morning", George answered his daughter.

"Oh good, that means I get the room to myself", she smiled while walking in the door.

Annie walked into the bedroom and pulled a set of clothes out for the next day. Once she did that she decided to tidy up the room thinking how funny it was that Alex had moved out two months ago but a lot of her stuff was still all over the place. After she was done she noticed it was already getting late so she walked into the bathroom to take a shower. Once the water was running she checked the drain very carefully out of habit not wanting a repeat of the time Alex had come out of the shower head while she was in the shower. Luckily Alex didn't really travel through pipes anymore in an attempt to avoid being seen by dad. In fact now that Annie had thought about it for the most part she had become much more conservative in using her powers trying to opt for as normal of a life as possible. She smiled thinking about all the times Alex had nearly blown it while trying to hide from Danielle and even a few times trying to protect her overbearing from one thing or another.

----

Alex and Ray arrived at the Mack house at about eight in the morning as everybody was getting ready to leave for the lake. Since they only had 2 bags between them and that was in the trunk they offered to let Annie ride with them so she didn't wind up crushed in the back seat of their parent's car underneath all of their luggage. Annie of course was delighted and since she enjoyed hanging out with Alex and Ray jumped at the chance to spend the two hour drive talking with them and not listening to her parents go on and on about the random things they tended to have discussions about. Once they were off they started talking and playing around like it was old times as they left town. Annie and Alex had always loved going to the lake as children since their parents always got a three bedroom cabin so at least for a few days a year they had gotten their own rooms which helped them survive living in the same room as one another back at home. Ray of course had never gone on one of these outing and was a little nervous about spending an entire week with Alex's whole family and sharing a room with her to boot. Her knew that her parents were happy that they had gotten together as was his father but he still felt like a kid around her parents and didn't want to do anything that would make them change their minds about his relationship with their daughter. Alex sensed his apprehension and took his hand while giving him a reassuring smile to help calm his nerves. They had barely left the town but they all were already feeling better and relieved since they had all been looking forward to a stress free week. Once they arrived at the cabin they were all ready for a rest. About half way there Ray had Alex drive since she knew the way he wanted to close his eyes for a little while. Alex gently woke Ray and the three of them exited that car to help unload her parent's car and set up the cabin. Once they finished unloading Ray and Alex went out to relax at the dock while Annie curled up with a book, Barbara started lunch, and George went fishing. "It's so perfect here", she said moving closer to him while he put an arm around her, "Yeah", he replied as they stared out at the still, clear water.

----

Thomson was busy getting the holding areas set up, and making sure the test chamber and chem. Lab was up and running. Once that was all he went to check on the recon team that had just arrived from the plant with the hard drives that the GC-161 data was stored on.

"How's it coming?" Thomson asked his computer engineer.

"Not well sir", the engineer responded, "These drive are protected by some kind of encryption protocol that I have never seen before, and from the looks of it if we try to break it without the authorization code it will automatically scramble the data and corrupt the drive so that even forensic recovery isn't possible."

Thomson cursed under his breath and told the team to keep working, but he knew soon he would have the authorization code and their efforts would be needless. He checked his schedule and headed over to the receiving area making sure they were ready for anything, and debriefed his operatives on what they were doing and to keep an eye out for anything strange from the youngest of the Mack family. Soon the Organization would have GC-161 and he would have her for study. He picked up his phone and called the head operative watching the Macks and told him to move in when the sun goes down.

----

As the sun set Alex and Ray found themselves sitting back on the dock watching it happen. Feeling a chill Alex shivered a little and Ray draped his over shirt onto her shoulders. "Thanks", she said snuggling back up to him until she felt something in the pocket. She pulled out a little felt box, opened it and gasped seeing a diamond ring inside. She looked over at Ray who had gotten on one knee and she began to smile broadly. He took the ring out of the box and held it up to her hand. He was just opening his mouth to ask when they heard a loud crash coming from the cabin. He put the ring back in the box and ran up the hill with Alex following him after slipping the ring box back into the shirt pocket. "This had better be good or I'm going to be pissed", she said coming up to the cabin. She and Ray had almost reached the porch when she was tackled to the ground and picked back up by a pair of strong black leather clad hands. She screamed and as Ray turned around to see what was wrong he was grabbed from behind. George and Barbara were brought out of the cabin screaming as Annie was carried by two men while struggling furiously. Ray saw them Force George and Barbara into a black van and he knew he had to do something so he kicked his foot backwards as hard as he could and heard a satisfying crunch as his assailants knee buckled and he collapsed to the ground screaming in pain. He then took a flying leap and collided full on with the person holding Alex. As soon as she was free she heard both Ray and her father tell her to run so she immediately took off towards the dock. She heard foot falls behind her as she approached the dock and turned to see if it was Ray, but all she saw was another person coming at her. Reacting quickly she hit him square in the chest with a bolt of electricity and took a flying leap off the dock and into the lake. Once all the detainees were locked up in the van they started combing the lake looking for Alex, and she was never more grateful she didn't have to breathe in her liquid form. She raced as fast as she could without creating a disturbance to the other side of the lake only to see three more men waist deep in water looking for her. She was tired and hoped she was able to outlast them before having to reform again.

----

Thomson sat at his desk going over material that he would use to get what he wanted when his phone rang.

"This is Thomson", he said into the receiver.

"It's Reed", the voice replied, "We have all but one of them."

Thomson sighed, "Let me guess, the younger on got away."

"She disappeared into the lake and my men haven't been able to locate her", Reed replied, "Also two of my operatives were injured in the capture process."

"How so", Thomson asked curiously.

"One has a broken knee and the other took a strong electrical shock straight to the chest", he answered.

"Head back, get the prisoners processed, and your men medical attention", Thomson instructed.

"What about the girl?" Reed asked.

"I have a feeling that she will come to us", Thomson stated, "Be back here ASAP."

Thomson hung up the phone and started going back over his notes and plans. In just a few short hours the last four months would pay off.

----

After what seemed like an eternity the men left and Alex summoned all her strength to get up to the shore before reforming. "Stupid fucking GC-161", she practically yelled as tears began to well up in her eyes. After taking a couple minutes to regain her composure she noticed that the ring was still in her pocket. She pulled out the box and slipped the ring onto her finger and couldn't help but smile slightly. Truth be told the ring was incredibly beautiful and she would have said yes, but now was not the time to dwell on such things. She knew it would take them roughly two hours to get back to paradise valley and since that was the closest town around she reasoned that's where they would go. She could get there faster than them but needed to know where they were going so she figured she would track them from a distance and one she knew where they were hiding she would make her move, but first she needed a few minutes to rest.

----

"What the hell do you think you're doing", George exclaimed angrily, trying to shake loose from his restraints.

"I demand to know what's going on", Annie piped in.

Ray looked around blankly as consciousness began to return to him, after letting Alex free they had knocked him out to keep him from giving them anymore trouble. Once he realized where he was he started fighting against his restraints and attack anybody who wasn't a Mack. After a few moments Reed tazed him, sending him back to unconsciousness.

"Next one to open their mouths gets the same treatment", he said coldly as George and Annie sunk down a bit, but complied with the instructions.

----

After about twenty minutes Alex had regained her strength so she decided it was time to start working on getting her family back. She took off into the air heading in the direction of the main road back to Paradise Valley. After a few minutes of flying as fast as she could she caught up with the caravan of black vehicles. Since this was the only road till you got to the edge of the city she flew past the convoy so that she could rest a few minutes before following them again. According to her calculation she had gotten to the edge of town with almost an hour to spare, so she used the time to get a little rest and make sure she would be up to the task of rescuing her family. After lying on the ground for what seemed like days she heard several vehicles coming down the road, and she immediately morphed so she would not be seen. Sure enough it was the caravan so as soon as they passed she took back to the skies to follow them. She followed them to a large warehouse on the edge of town that had been renovated and looked like something out of Area 51, there was security everywhere and she knew it would not be easy. Alex silently landed in the bushes about a hundred feet from the gate and began to formulate a plan to not only get in but to get her family out.

---

**A/N: Another chapter done please review.**


	8. The Break In

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 8**

**The Break In**

----

As George, Barbara, and Annie Mack were put into a holding cell the saw the unconscious form of Ray being carried further down the hall. Annie tried to push past the guards to get to Ray, but it proved to be a useless gesture as one of the guars pushed her back into the cell with a nightstick. George rushed over to his daughter to make sure she was alright and in a fit of anger lunged at the guard that had pushed Annie. The guard was faster that George and tazed him before he made contact. Barbara knelt next to her husband and once she was satisfied she glared up at the guard, "What the hell do you people want from us?" she shouted.

Thomson stepped out from behind the larger of the two guards, "At the moment Mrs. Mack I want information, and if you cooperate with us I assure you, you will not be harmed." He looked over at Annie, "Now if you would be so kind Dr. Mack, I could certainly use the decryption protocols for the drives containing the information of the compound GC-161."

"And what exactly do you plan to do with it?" She practically spat at him.

"I'm afraid that's really none of your concern", he replied.

"He's going to turn it into a weapon", George said beginning to regain his faculties from being tazed.

"Now, now George, making assumptions like that can be detrimental to your health."

"But you didn't say he was wrong", Annie replied coldly,"And what do you plan to do with Ray?"

Thomson smiled cordially, "Mr. Alvarado has been volunteered to help us when we get to the critical stage of development."

"You can't be serious", George said struggling to his feet, "You're going to dose him?"

"I thought we had already had a talk about making assumptions", Thomson replied seriously.

"You son of a bitch", Annie snapped.

"Flattery will get you nowhere", Thomson replied sarcastically, "The decryption key on the other hand."

"Go to hell", she seethed back at him.

"There's no need to get upset, just give me the key."

"Didn't you hear me asshole", she began shouting, "I said fuck you!"

Thomson slapped her across the face and when she turned to look at him, he began to speak, "Come young Dr. Mack, it doesn't suite someone of your academic achievements to use such language. I'll make this easy for you, if you don't give me the key; I'll have your precious Ray killed right now."

Annie stepped back and gasped, "You wouldn't."

"Alright", George said, "We'll give you the key."

"Glad you see things from my point of view", Thomson said with a slight smile.

"You hurt him and Alex will kill you", Annie said with venom dripping from her voice.

----

Alex sighed as she complete her third round looking for a quiet way into the compound. It seemed that everywhere she looked the entrances seemed to be sealed by airlock. It frustrated her to no end that with all her abilities she couldn't do something as simple as slip quietly inside a building. After a few more minutes she decided that the only way to get in was to hitch a ride with another person. She morphed and quietly slid into a container by the loading dock. Just like she planned within a couple minutes the container with her inside was carried into the facility. When she slid out of the container what she saw could only be described as frightening; there were chemicals of every type and more equipment than she had ever had to use is school. "They're going to make GC-161", she thought to herself trying to slip in-between crates and tables. She saw a door on the far wall that led into the rest of the installation, but it was guarded. She crept up behind the closest person she could find, and with a very controlled jolt to his spine sent him into unconsciousness. She took his ID badge and morphed to assume his form. As casually as she could, she walked to the door leading to the rest of the installation and swiped the badge against the keypad on the door. Obediently the door unlocked and admitted her into the interior. Silently she crept through the corridors hoping she would be able to maintain this shape long enough to find her family.

----

Thomson left the Macks in their cell and headed to his own office for some peace and quiet after that stressful encounter with the oldest of the Mack children. He entered his office to find his boss occupying his desk.

"Come in Doctor", he said to Thomson.

"Director, what an unexpected surprise, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing", came the reply,"I'm just here to supervise the final stages of this project."

"Well, we decrypted the drives and are now creating the compound for ourselves."

"I'm aware", The Director replied, "You've done a good job here, but there is still one loose end to tie up."

"Dr. Alexandra Mack", Thomson replied.

"Yes, she is a security risk and secrecy must be maintained."

Thomson sighed as he looked at his employer, "I have reviewed her personality profile and it is actually most likely that she will attempt to rescue her family before going to any authorities."

"And what is your contingency for that?"

Thomson pulled a gun out of his pocket that looked more like a toy than a real weapon. "This gun emits an electro-static charge which will temporarily stun the central nervous system. It won't do any permanent damage and her autonomic function will stay stable, but it will disable her."

"Impressive" The Director told him, "May I see the prisoners?"

"Absolutely sir, right this way."

----

Ray groaned as he began to regain consciousness, and tried to sit up only to realize he was strapped down on some sort of medical table. Taking in his surrounding he saw that he was in a small room with one door and a glass observation window. Last thing he remembered was waking up in a van that held the Mack family, minus Alex. He struggled against his restraints for a minute until he was sufficiently sure he couldn't break them. Ray laid his head back as the door to his room opened and two men walked in. He looked up at them and was instantly overcome with anger.

What have you done with Alex? He demanded, "If you hurt her I swear to God I will kill you!"

"Goodnight Mr. Alvarado", Thomson said as he presses a button.

Ray was struggling but soon found his world spinning and he was once again enveloped by darkness.

"Quite a spirit on this one", The Director stated looking down on the now unconscious form of Ray.

"Yes, but he should do quite nicely for the test", Thomson replied satisfied with himself.

----

Alex had spent the last thirty minutes looking for her family, with no success. This place was huge and she was unable to get into certain areas with the clearance level on the badge she had stolen. She saw a short man with glasses walk out of one of the restricted areas and head down the hall. Silently she crept up behind him and as soon as he was out of sight of anyone else, she zapped him, took his badge, and changed forms yet again. She knew she was getting tired and had to struggle to keep her shape as she entered the door hoping it would be the right one. After another twenty minutes and several doors, she finally came across the holding cells. She allowed herself to morph back to her normal form and leaned briefly against a wall to recuperate. Once she felt a little better she began making her way to the different cells until she came up to the one wither family in it.

"Mom, Dad, Annie", she said as she saw them.

"Alex", her father said, "You shouldn't be here."

"I know", she replied, "But I had to help you."

"Alex", Annie said looking up, "They took Ray somewhere else, and they're going to dose him with GC-161."

Alex visibly paled at the though and then gasped when he saw that Annie had a black eye, "What did they do to you?"

"That Thomson guy hit me, but I'm fine. Get us out of here so we can find Ray."

Alex was about to try the keycard in the cell locking mechanism when she felt a sharp pain in her back. She tried to turn around, but her head began to swim and she collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"That was easier than I thought", Thomson said.

"Good work", replied his boss.

"And just who the hell are you?" George asked seething with rage over what had just happened to his daughter.

"You can call me", the man seemed to pause and debate his next words, "Smith."

Thomson turned around as a couple of men entered the area. "Take Dr. Mack to exam room three and make sure she's secured.

"Where are you taking here", the entire Mack family demanded at once.

"Observations and tests", Smith answered as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

----

**A/N: I know it's a short chapter but I'm using it to build for the next one. Get ready only two more to go.**


	9. Showdown

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 9**

**Showdown**

**

* * *

**

Alex groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her. She winced when she opened her eyes and felt sharp pain in her head; in fact she hadn't felt like this since graduation. She forcefully opened her eyes again and found herself staring at a fluorescent light in a ceiling. She tried to sit up, but quickly realized that she had been restrained. She decided to morph out of her restraints but found out that was useless as well. She heard a voice at the door and the sound of it unlocking terrified he, but she closed her eyes and tried to appear as calm as possible. The door opened slowly and she heard someone walk in and stand next to her bed.

"You might as well open your eyes", he said while looking over her charts, "I know you're awake."

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked with a nervous tone in her voice.

"At the moment, nothing", he said looking down on her, "We're waiting on orders for that, and until we get them we just need to keep you under observation."

"Can you tell me why I've been restrained?"

"I believe I can answer that Dr. Mack"; Thomson said as he entered the room, we don't want you using your abilities."

"Restraints haven't stopped me before", Alex said.

"The restraints are for a physical assault, the crown jewel is this", he said as he pulled out his gun.

"And that is?" Alex asked coldly.

"It's something that disrupts your nervous system. There is no permanent damage, but it will keep you from using your powers for quite awhile."

"Where's Ray?"

"He's right here my dear", Thomson said as he pulled a small remote out of his pocket and turned on a monitor.

Alex felt a tear run down her cheek as she looked upon Ray strapped to an exam table.

* * *

Barbara pounded her fist against the glass in a vain attempt to break it. After a few moments she sat down on the bench that was in the cell and began to sob. Annie and George saw what she was going through and each sat down in front of her. She pulled each of them into a hug and continued to cry.

"I thought we were long past people hunting us and our children", she said through her tears.

"Me too honey, me too", he said trying to comfort her.

"What's going to happen to her?" Barbara asked.

"She'll find out what they are doing to Ray, and go completely crazy", Annie said, "And I'm afraid to see what she's capable of when she does."

Barbara looked up at her daughter, "What are you talking about?"

"I was going over my notes and scans before we left, and Alex's powers are not only stronger, they're so potent that she could continue gaining new abilities at an alarming rate."

"And if something drives her over the edge", George said.

"She could blow this whole place to kingdom come before she knows what she's doing", Annie finished.

"She wouldn't do that", Barbara said resolutely.

"If she gets angry enough, she might", George said.

"We've all seen that she has a bit of a dark side, and this would bring it out and basically put it on steroids", Annie said deadpanned.

"Would she still be Alex afterward?" Barbara asked.

Annie grimaced at the thought. She remembered when Alex was split into two, and had met her dark side personally. She didn't know if she could live with that Alex again, "She'll be Alex, but it may change her at a fundamental level."

Annie sighed as she leaned back against the glass, and touched her now very sore eye. "I just wish that there was something I could do to help."

"So do I sweetheart", Barbara said.

* * *

Alex sighed despondently as she watched Ray getting poked and prodded on the monitor that had been set up in front of her. She had never seen him so weak, and had never felt so helpless herself. She knew that she could save him if she hadn't been hit with that stupid weapon, and she knew that unless she did something her and her family were never going to get out of this alive. She pulled at her bonds one more time to no avail, and turned her head away from the screen. It made her sick to think that she could see and hear everything going on in that room, but was unable to even let him know that she was here. She began trying to force her powers to work, but the best she got was a few sparks from her fingertips. She turned her attention back to the monitor just in time to see them load Ray up on an IV of a familiar gold liquid. She screamed in rage as she felt an incredible surge of energy run through her body and broke clean through one of her bonds with a strength that she didn't even know she possessed.

* * *

Thomson looked at the director as the IV of GC-161 was fed into the arm of Ray Alvarado.

"Are you sure that the girl should see this?" Thomson asked his boss.

"I need to break her will", he responded without a hint of emotion, "If she's going to work for me I need to break her will."

"You're going to make her an agent?" Thomson asked with a surprised tone.

"Yes", the director said, "She's already been exposed to the compound, so we know it won't kill her, and her abilities will be most useful."

"So by making her watch this will"

Turn her mind into a putty that I can I can mold into what I want to be", he coldly finished.

They looked up as the lights around then started flickering on and off, and jumped as they started exploding. Thomson grabbed his walkie talkie and shouted a few orders into it.

* * *

Six soldiers were outside the exam room when the door came flying at them, causing them to scramble in all direction in order to avoid being crushed by the heavy door. Once they had righted themselves, they saw a very angry looking woman with electricity arcing from what seemed like every inch of her body. She took a step through the door and the doorframe blew apart spraying debris everywhere. One hit the floor screaming from a piece of metal through his eye and another from one in the neck. Another managed to shoot her in the chest, but his victory was short lived when that area turned into a silvery substance, the bullet fell right out, and she re-solidified the area with not even so much as a drop of blood.

"What are you?" He screamed at her.

"I am the woman that Hell hath no fury like when scorned", she replied in a seething, ice cold voice that also seemed to burn with hatred, "You and your people have made a grave mistake."

She hit him with a bolt of lightning which caused him to crumple to the floor and send the other two remaining soldiers running before she could injure them as well. Alex didn't give them a second thought as she turned and walked down the hallway ripping apart anything that came near her.

* * *

The Mack family sat in their cell when they noticed the electricity beginning to act up. Annie stared up at the lights when she noticed a pattern.

"Long, long, long, space, long, long, space, short, long, long", Annie stared at the lights thoughtfully, "O-M-W, it's Alex, she's telling us that she's on her way."

"I didn't know that you knew Morse code", her father said.

"Lonely childhood", Annie replied.

"I wonder how she escaped", Barbara said just before hearing several screams, an explosion, and a gunshot."

"My guess is Alex found out what they were doing to Ray" Annie said with a slightly mischievous smirk.

George cringed as he heard a roaring sound mixed in with several small explosions, "It sounds like she's tearing the entire building down."

"She probably is. I doubt she's restraining herself, and a telekinetic and electrical backlash of that magnitude could be extreme. I wouldn't want to be in her way", Annie said.

* * *

Alex continued her trek through the corridors of the facility decimating anything around her. She saw another group of soldiers holding a perimeter at an intersection. Without flinching she launched everything around her; chairs, desks, and pieces of the walls came flying down the corridor slamming right into the group before they had even gotten a single shot off with their guns. She lifted one off the ground and brought him to her.

"Where is Ray Alvarado", she demanded in the same seething voice as earlier.

The soldier looked upon her in horror as he pointed down a hallway. As she turned away from him, he went flying into what was left of the wall. Still seething with rage she continued her destructive journey to Ray.

Hearing the commotion getting closer, the director pulled out his cell phone and entered a security key. As soon as he did the lighting became a crimson red and a computerized voice came over the speakers throughout the installation, "Warning, level red security enabled. Entry and exit now restricted to biometric access." They heard something slam hard against the door, and Thomson readied his synaptic disrupter pistol while the director slipped quietly out the other door. After a few more slams the door burst from its hinges. Thomson leveled his pistol at the door and as soon as Alex came through let off a charge at her. Alex looked at him coldly as the blast was neutralized by her own electrical field.

"Fool me once", she said coldly as she raised her arm to strike him down.

"Alex", came a muffled voice.

She looked towards the voice and saw Ray pressed up against the glass of the exam room. In the split second after she took her eyes from him Thomson bolted out the door. Without thinking Alex felt her body began to liquefy, but instead of morphing into a puddle, she felt herself concentrate her matter into her arm forming what looked like a silver hammer. She swung and with a combination of her arm and her telekinetic abilities shattered the glass. Ray jumped through the broken window and looked at Alex.

"Let's get out of here", he said.

Her voice softened a bit as she looked him in the eyes, "No, get my family and get out, I'm going to end this."

Before he could respond she blasted through the other door in the room, continuing on her path of destruction. After a few more corridors she came into what looked like a factory floor containing several vats of GC-161. She felt another surge of rage seeing that they were mass-producing this chemical. She felt a sting as a bullet pierced her flesh, but as quickly as it happened her body ejected it leaving no trace of injury. Alex looked up to see the director arming what looked like a warhead.

"This ends now", he said as he flipped the switch, "This building will blow in five minutes, and nobody but the highest level personnel are able to open the exits."

Without responding Alex let out a blast of electricity, connecting with the catwalk that the director was on, sending him falling with the warhead and most of the catwalk into a vat of the chemical. Alex turned to walk out, but came face to face with Ray and her family. When she saw that they were out she calmed down and left the rage induced trance that had gripped her.

"The building's going to explode", she said quietly.

"Come on we need to find a way out", her father said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

The spent the next couple minutes running back to the only entrance that Alex knew where was, but when they reached their destination they were met with Thomson pointing a gun at them.

"You're not going anywhere", he said.

"You idiot", Ray yelled at him, "The building's going to blow, we need to get out."

"The only way you get out is in chains or bags", he said as he fired a shot off at Ray.

Alex shot out a bolt of energy dissipating Thomson blast, and his eyes widened as she willed her hand to become a blade. "I have a feeling that your handprint will open this door", she said with a smirk, "Whether or not it's attached to your arm."

Alex's family looked at her in disbelief; they had never seen her act so coldly. Barbara still had trouble believing that all the damage they had seen was caused by her youngest daughter. Thomson looked into her cold stare and finally realized that he had lost. He raised his hand to the scanner, releasing the lock on the door. As the Mack family ran from the building Ray punched him square in the jaw knocking him out. George rushed back and helped Ray get him clear of the building. Just as they got to the outside of the perimeter, the bomb went off, and the building collapsed into a heap of rubble and fire. George Tied up Thomson using some twine that he grabbed while helping Ray get him out of the building as everybody else watched the destruction. Alex looked Ray in the eye and pulled his ring off of her finger and handed it back to him.

"I did some bad things in there, and if you're not sure whether or not you can stay with me, I would understand."

"Alex", he said cupping her dirty face in his hand, "I know you did what you did to save us, and for no other reason. Nothing in this world would make me happier than to be with someone that I can really call my hero."

Alex closed her eyes as tears threatened to flow. When she opened them, she looked at the ring, "I think you were in the middle of something, when we were so rudely interrupted."

Ray placed the ring on her finger and pulled her in close. Once their foreheads were touching he said, "I love you more than anything in this world. Would you honor me by becoming my wife?"

Alex made no effort to hide her tears as she began nodding her head, "Yes", she said before pulling him into a kiss. The kiss was broken as Ray fell to the ground unconscious. George and Annie rush up to them and gasped to see that Ray was beginning to morph.

"We have to get him to the plant", George said.

"How?" Annie replied, "We're in the middle of nowhere without a vehicle.

"What about one of those?" Barbara asked, pointing to a couple vans parked on the perimeter undamaged by the explosion.

Once they got Ray and Thomson into the van George started fumbling around the front.

"What are you doing?" Barbara asked.

"looking for keys", George said, clearly frustrated.

"Jesus Dad, let me do it", Alex said while sending a spark from her finger into the ignition of the van, causing the engine to turn over immediately and George to nod before putting the van in gear and pulling out of the ruined facility.

* * *

Several hours later Alex arrived back at the plant from taking her mother home. Thomson had been secured in a holding cell under armed guard, and Nicole. She went back into the lab that Annie and George were in, and took her place at a microscope, where she could really help Ray.

"It's unstable", the girls heard their father say, "They made an unstable batch, and now it's breaking down at the cellular level."

"How can we fix it?" Alex asked.

"A dose of genuine GC-161", Annie said somberly.

"There has to be another way", Alex said, her voice beginning to tremble.

"I'm afraid not", George said, "It's either that, or when their compound breaks down it will take him with it."

Alex grunted slightly, "Fine, let's get this over with."

Annie walked over to the far wall as George entered a command on the computer, causing a hidden panel to open. Annie pulled a canister out and bring it over to Ray, who was only vaguely human. Annie opened the canister and slowly poured the contents onto Rays form. After a few minutes Ray solidified and opened his eyes.

"Ray", Alex practically yelped as she threw her arms around him.

"Hey Al", he responded.

"So he's going to be ok?" Alex asked looking at her father.

"We'll have to keep an eye on him to be sure, but for right now he is."

"Can we go home?" She asked.

"I think that's a very good idea, Nicole and the police can handle Thomson. Let's go home and get some rest."

The four of them walked out of the plant just as the sun began to rise. Alex pulled herself closer to Ray, ready to face the dawning of a new day.

* * *

**A/N: The next and last chapter will most likely be short since it's more like an epilogue than an actual chapter. Please read and Review.**


	10. Bells and Whistles

**RETURNING HOME**

**Chapter 10**

**Bells and Whistles**

**

* * *

**

(Three months later)

* * *

Alex smiled as she smoothed out the front of her gown. For the last several months she practically giggled every time she thought about this day, and now it was here. She wore a long, white, and shiny strapless gown with a silver tiara and laced veil. She lout on her earrings and carefully slid the wedding garter onto her leg before slipping her beautiful white shoes on. She was trying to reach the zipper on the back of the dress when she heard a knock on her dressing room door. Without thinking she flicked her wrist causing the door to open revealing her mother and sister.

"Hi", she said in a slightly frustrated tone still trying to zip up her dress.

"Why don't you just?" Annie asked while running her finger up in the air, imitating Alex.

"Because it's my special day, and I want to get ready without powers", she replied.

"We're so happy for you sweetheart", Barbara said trying to hold back a few tears.

"It's time", Nicole and Robin said peeking their heads in the door.

Annie straightened her gown, grabbed Alex bouquet, and handed it to her, "Alright little sister, let's go get you married."

* * *

Ray buttoned his shirt and straightened the front before slipping his vest on over it. He had spent the last several days preparing his vows, and since Alex had stayed with her parents so Ray would have something to look forward to on their wedding day, he had plenty of time to work on them. Over the last several months he had gone through many changes, none the least were that he now possessed the same albeit less powerful abilities as Alex, but she said they would get stronger with time. He was thankful that he would be surrounded by people who knew what they were doing, and Alex would help him so as to avoid some of her accidents with learning to control them. The door to his dressing room opened and his dad and George Mack entered the room. Giving up on his tie, he telekinetically tied it as he faced the two men.

"I'm proud of you son", his dad said. He had been informed of everything that had gone on, and he beamed with pride to hear how big a hero his son was.

"I've said for years that you were family", George said, "Now I get to give you the official welcome." George pulled him into a hug and patted him on the back, "Now you treat my daughter right."

"I would never consider doing otherwise", he said returning the hug.

"Alright son", his dad said, "Now let's go get you married"

* * *

The wedding chapel was brightly lit and beautifully decorated. Barbara had gone through a lot of trouble to make the place perfect, and since it was such a small ceremony most people thought she slightly overdid it. Ray and Alex had decided to have a small wedding consisting of only close friends and family, but George still had the police on hand to deal with all the reporters that showed up. For some reason the daughter of the plants CEO getting married was a big deal to them.

Ray stood stiff as a board at the front of the chapel, partly because he was nervous but mostly because he couldn't wait to see Alex come in wearing her gown. He stiffened as the organ began playing music and the small bridal procession started its way up to the front. His best man Louis Driscoll walked up arm and arm with Alex's maid of honor Annie. They were of course followed by Alex and her father, coming slowly up the aisle. Ray was absolutely stunned to see Alex and immediately forced himself to relax. Once she got to the altar the minister motioned for everyone to sit, and stepped over to the happy couple.

"Dearly beloved", he began, "We are gathered here today to witness the union between this man, and this woman. Any who think these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your piece." He looked around and when nobody spoke up continued, Raymond Alvarado and Alexandra Mack have decided to make their love official by standing here and declaring it for their peers. They have each prepared their own vows and will now claim their intentions to be together for all time." The minister stepped back and motioned for Ray to begin.

"Alex", he said, "I have known you forever. We grew up together, and have had many adventures. When you left for school, and then took a job in L.A. I felt incomplete. I thought it was because I was missing my best friend, but it turned out that I was missing a part of my soul, a part that has always and will always belong to you. I knew when you returned home that I had to have you, I had to make you mine and never let go because you complete me. I love you more than anything else, and I stand here today to tell you that I will devote myself to you forever." He took her ring off the pillow that had been setup beside them and slid it onto her finger, "I will treasure every moment with you, and look forward to a wonderful future that we will share."

Alex smiled as a tear escaped her eye. She knew that he loved her, but had never heard him say something as beautiful as that. She saw the minister nod to her and knew it was her turn.

"I love you", she said, "I always will, and I will dedicate my life to you. You have helped me through so much over our lives that I can't even fathom being with anybody but you, ever. Your kindness make me feel better when I was hurt or down, your ability to make me laugh is one of my greatest treasures, and the fact that you are willing to sacrifice so much for me melts my heart. I'm not going to promise that we'll be together forever, because when something's so obvious it goes without being said. I will promise however to make you as happy as I can, and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together." She took the ring from the pillow and placed it on his finger, "I will be yours forever and you will be mine, we know this and I feel that we are going to have a wonderful family, grow old, and enjoy our golden years together. I love you and I always will."

The minister stepped forward and place a hand on each of their shoulders, "By the power vested in my, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Ray lifted the veil from Alex's face and leaned in carefully touching his lips to hers.

The minister reached his arms out to them and faced the congregation, "I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Alvarado."

The organ music started back up as Ray and Alex linked arms and started heading back down the aisle. Alex looked at her new husband and looked forward to many years as Mrs, or well at least Dr. Alex Alvarado.

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**A/N: This is the end of this story. I have two more on the drawing board if the wonderful readers at would like to read them. As always reviews are loved by me, and much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.**


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